New Realtime arranger software announcement

[Henni]

Another live performance using GBL & a standard "onboard" style:

Amazing Grace

The purpose for this demo is to demonstrate the ease with which one can perform live using this program - with the correct bindings in place I do not touch the program during play. I am still using a desktop PC for all of this - a tablet resting on the arranger will simplify things even more.

[attachment deleted by admin]

[Henni]

Nother live demo using GBL:

Mellow

Henni

[EileenL]

Thank you Hennie for that very good demonstration. I must say the voicing was very impressive.

[Pino]

That style (mellow) was excellent and sounded live.
That should get the dancers back on the floor.
Pino

[Henni]

Hi all,

I am growing more fond of GBL with every day of using it. I have highlighted some of it's benefits in this thread already. However, please allow me if I may to update that list with a more current version of what I've discovered to date:

1. 8 Variations
2. 8 OTSs
3. Two breaks
4. Seamless OTS changes - old voices/effects playing out in full even with new voices now playing.
5. Control lead voices in-out/volume by way of playing on keys - this is STUNNING.
6. 3 Lead voices, 1 LH voice.
7. Different harmonies on ALL lead & LH voices.
8. Much more effects power/routing than available on standard on-board hardware only.
9. Style bar reset.
10. Half bar fills.
11. Extremely powerful on-board style editing, some on the fly.
12. 4 Extra lead voices to be played by another midi device.
13. Software upgrades without changing the hardware.
14. Find a nice effect, lead or acc. voice or even OTS anywhere? Copy to any other style in mere seconds only - even on the fly.
15. Swap the inside variation sections around to your liking on the fly i.e. use var 3 Bass in var 7 whilst playing live & save new style even whilst performing with it.
16. Within days drum fills would be controllable by how you play your keys like i.e. on the Audya!
17. Link any OTS to any variation & save.
18. Transpose & save any voice/s inside an acc. on the fly whilst performing!!! Different transpose in different variation, intro, ending, fill & break parts for same voice
19. Round Robin drums like on the Genos.
20. Round Robin type effects assigned to lead voices to your personal liking.
21. 860 STUNNINGLY arranged styles @ 0,58 €/style right at your fingertips.
22. Accepts a touch screen with optic mouse.
23. Single printer cable interface only.
24. Record direct to your Yamaha as is normal.
25. Easily edit the different voices with each voice' full parameters individually within a same style part in i.e a specific variation like i.e. a "Scoo Bee Doo Hah Mmm" phrase - the ease to do is amazing!
26. Any editing of any style part is either locally or globally applied like on the Audya.
27. Intelligently continuously moving split-point to just above where you currently play your chords giving more access to lead voices without you doing anything!
28. Also uses registrations
29. You can bind any Yamaha or any other midi transmittable outputs to soft inputs
30. Store pre-setup effects in memory to use in any other place
31. Go back to playing your PSR S770 in stock standard mode with a single button push during live play. Push single button to return to GBL!
32. GBL is a very powerful style editing tool should you wish to use it as such.
33. If not then it is a GENIUS ad-on module to your existing PSR S770 or equivalent with all the benefits as listed above.

I am sure this list will grow as I understand this product more. I am only now starting to play with the effect settings (which is one of the major improvements of this program) so who knows what will come from this...

As stated above, the GBL team is currently modifying the program to include drum fills when I play more aggressively with my left hand - I used this function all the time on my Audya and it makes for a huge improvement in performing. I am really looking forward to this new function.

They are also working on linking more of my user memory to program voices and I am also looking forward to this as I've now sacrificed my Genos Schlager Revo drums for more choir voices instead. I think I can do more with these and time will tell if so or not.

They are also programming new bindings for me that would advance the current registration to the next one - this alone would remove the need for me to even touch the interface during a live performance.

Well, this is where things stand as is. I would like to keep this topic updated with all new findings, developments & demos from time to to time.

I have NEVER found any software to date which allows for easier style manipulation. Now that I've fully made up my mind to play live using GBL only, all the rest falls into place seamlessly. Hopefully I could post a few videos in future showing some live play albeit using my desktop PC only for now. As soon as I can make a plan, a tablet would replace it as the designers intended for it to be used.

All the best,

Henni

[Henni]

Hi again

From time to time, I would like to elaborate on some of my findings. Herewith the first case:

5. Control lead voices in-out/volume by way of playing on keys - this is STUNNING.

Whilst playing, R1 does not alter at all by your playing style. Thus you can press harder or softer with no adverse effect at all.

However, R2 & R3 are severely effected by your playing style.

1. Play softer, the voices grow softer.
2. Play even more gentle and they fade away altogether.
3. Play more aggressive and they REALLY start to come alive.

Demonstrated here.

Fantastic for i.e. having FULL control of choirs singing along with your lead voice - I am sure all of this is user definable so R1 does not HAVE to be fixed as per this example

Keep well all,

Henni

[Henni]

18. Transpose & save any voice/s inside an acc. on the fly whilst performing!!! Different transpose in different variation, intro, ending, fill & break parts for same voice

I have read often here about the need to transpose something in the acc. voices. I.m.o. GBL perfected this.

1. You can transpose any voice to any value, different for every style section.
2. All of this right on the fly whilst performing live.
3. If you like it, save the style even whilst playing live with it.

Example here.

I find this EXTREMELY handy at times. If you have a style phrase playing like i.e. "Hey Ho Mmm", you can set Hey to i.e +1, Ho to -1 and Mmmm to +2 should you wish for that specific section currently playing. Set to different values for any other style sections including breaks & fills or any section to do with the style. Also you hear your results live immediately as you change these parameters, so no guess work involved.

[beykock]

Hi Henni :

Very, very interesting. Thank you !

A few questions :

01) What does GBL mean ? Where to be found on the internet ?
02) How do you create this nice choir ?

Plse advise. Many thanks, Babette

[Henni]

Hi Babette,

It's the abbreviation for GroovyBand Live! Find info on it here

The choir voices are free voices installed in my user memory. The specific ones you heard in the demo are:

1. Federica
2. Tenor Man
3. Opera

I supply these a part of a package along with my Revo styles or GroovyBand Live! styles. Please see the conditions to those specific styles on my styles pages.

However, nothing prevents you from finding these on the internet & installing yourself

GBL altered my product to recognize these user voices, so now I can use them like any other voice.

The harmony comes from GBL itself. You can ad one, two or three voice harmonies to any or all of the three lead voices and one LH voice. Makes for really stunning effects!

All the best,

Henni

[Henni]

27. Intelligently continuously moving split-point to just above where you currently play your chords giving more access to lead voices without you doing anything!

Now THIS is a good one! No need for 76 keys anymore. When activated GBL monitors your playing style and sets the keyboard split-point slightly higher than the regular chords you are playing, freeing up more space for lead voices.

Need more keys? Simply play your chords lower.

This works VERY well & I have not as yet found any undesired results in selecting this option.

[Henni]

14. Find a nice effect, lead or acc. voice or even OTS anywhere? Copy to any other style in mere seconds only - even on the fly.

Another NICE very useful feature. Listening to a style, you find a specific i.e. guitar with the most AMAZING effects added to it. Simply copy it to one of the many memory locations.

Go back to any style of your choice and plunk that voice along with it's AMAZING effects anywhere appropriate in the second style.

This applies to OTS settings, lead voices, acc. voices all alike.

[Henni]

15. Swap the inside variation sections around to your liking on the fly i.e. use var 3 Bass in var 7 whilst playing live & save new style even whilst performing with it.

1. Go to any part of any style i.e. variation 7
2. For every part of that style, from drums to whatever, select the specific track and cycle through the different sections programmed for that part i.e. variation 3 or whatever.
3. Immediately THAT specific subroutine will now play in variation 7 for that part.
4. Now do same for any other part or track - all of this LIVE!
5. Like your new creation? Save right there on the fly.

It is AMAZING just what could be achieved using this alone. It's almost like having a totally new style.

[beykock]

Hi Henni :

Many thanks for your feedback !

Prog is 70 GB = a lot !

Very useful information.

Best wishes, Babette

[Henni]

31. Go back to playing your PSR S770 in stock standard mode with a single button push during live play. Push single button to return to GBL!

This is really THAT simple! And when you switch back to GBL, it sits there waiting for you. You can continue right where you left off.

So I am not cutting my own throat when opting for GBL. It does not HAVE to replace my PSR S770, but rather it compliments it.

You set up the new midi parameters only once on the Yamaha & then simply save it. A simple pre-programmed Yamaha midi parameter (already in the list) will take you out of GBL and back to the Yamaha.

The interface between GBL & the Yamaha is a single USB printer cable so absolutely nothing fancy or too technical to cope with here.

That's all the detail I am able to personally comment on for now. Reading through all the posts on this thread it seems as if there should be more users. However, I see no feedback to this effect and sincerely hope that some of my findings might shed just a little more light on the ins & outs of GBL.

[groovyband.live]

I have read often here about the need to transpose something in the acc. voices. I.m.o. GBL perfected this.

1. You can transpose any voice to any value, different for every style section.
2. All of this right on the fly whilst performing live.
3. If you like it, save the style even whilst playing live with it.

Of course you can also change/customise the voice itself or any parameter ("voice set" in Yamaha's wording) independently for any style section.

On top of that you can replace a mega voice with another (reasonably similar) mega voice or a regular voice (thus greatly expanding your options) . GBL makes on the fly all the adjustments necessary to play glitch free every substituted voice. Because it knows all the velocity mapped articulations and noises of everything on offer, and hence can find the most appropriate conversion path. Everything is transparent to the user: you just change the voice, GBL makes behind the scenes all the heavy lifting required. With the sequencer running.

This works with drumkits too! Replace a drumkit with another (reasonably similar) drumkit and let GBL find the corresponding drum pieces and remap on the fly the sounding notes to the best match. GBL has builtin the maps of all the drumkits, and hence knows its business!

And for mega voices you can choose to (de)emphasize the noises at will, just turn a knob. And possibly save the result as a voice parameter mod, for the whole style or for just that section.

[Henni]

Here are some Groovy Band Live style demos that I've recorded on my PSR S770:

Groovy01

Groovy02

Groovy03

Groovy04

Groovy05

Groovy06

Groovy07

Groovy08

Groovy09

Groovy10

Groovy11

Groovy12

Groovy13

Groovy14

Groovy15

Groovy16

Groovy17

Groovy18

Groovy19

Groovy20

Groovy21

Groovy22

Groovy23

Groovy24

Groovy25

Groovy26

Groovy27

Groovy28

Groovy29

Groovy30

Groovy31

Groovy32

Groovy33

Groovy34

Groovy35

Groovy36

Groovy37

Groovy38

Groovy39

Groovy40

Groovy41

Groovy42

Groovy43

Groovy44

Groovy45

Groovy46

Groovy47

Groovy48

Groovy49

Groovy50

Groovy51


More to follow...

[beykock]

Listening to Henni's MP3's, I am very impressed by the high quality of the great sound. Never heard such a great "conversions " before.

I am very interested in buying this prog.

It probably needs a lot of knowledge and/or pratice to be able to use it, am I right ?
Not a plug-and-play prog, I guess ?

Hi Henni, what is the price of this prog and where can it be ordered/bought ?
Is it a USA product made for Win and Mac ?

Henni, your feedback would be highly appreciated. Thanks !

Best regards, Babette

[Henni]

Hi Babette,

Download the demo for starters or contact them here should you feel no need to tamper with the demo first.  This program is extremely easy to use and yes, the standard styles (860) that comes with it are all of exceptional high quality.

It most definitely IS a plug & play program to say the least.

I promise that I do not intend to perform live without it ever again. The sound coming from the output is just THAT good and I am totally spoiled now.

I no longer feel deserted or cheated by life because I cannot also afford a SX900/Genos - GBL will keep me happily busy for a very long time. This team have been at it for quite a few years already so I am totally confident that many other stunning features will be added to it with their continued development of this already great product.

Those who came to know me over the years will vouch for the fact that I do not state anything that is not true and neither do I promote anything with such zeal that is not really outstanding.

So far my best styles ever created/modified were those made using GBL. If it was not for the fact that:

1. I HAVE to continue making styles for a living
2. There are not many known users of this program as yet to my knowledge

then I would not even have wasted any more time with creating any more non GBL styles. Despite some of my client's feedback on the quality of my styles, I simply cannot equal the quality of the styles I created with this offering, no matter how hard I try. It puts even my best creations to shame, at least in my opinion and I would never down run my own creations.

Their statement about the program adding things to ordinary voices because of all voice parameters being accessible to all other voices at all times MUST be true, because now I can replace Mega voices with other ordinary voices with STUNNING results which is not normal.

Also I hear nuances and other things in onboard voices that I've never heard on my S770 before. I have absolutely no idea how they do it, but the results are really awesome.

I am really amazed that they are not flooded by orders as yet. Maybe this will come and then my focus will totally shift to GBL styles only.

Henni

[beykock]

Many thanks, Henni for this super interesting feedback.

First of all it is my intention to download the trial version and share my experiences here.

It would be great if additional DAW features like ( audio recording & VST's input e.g. etc. ) would come later on.



Best wishes, Babette

[groovyband.live]

.... now I can replace Mega voices with other ordinary voices with STUNNING results which is not normal.

Also I hear nuances and other things in onboard voices that I've never heard on my S770 before. I have absolutely no idea how they do it, but the results are really awesome.


Henni

The quoted specs and features explained in the manual (https://www.groovyband.live/user-manual/) are only the tip of the iceberg. Below the water level there is a full world of trade secrets. 

And not everything can be appreciated simply by reading the specs. You actually have to use the software. That is why we offer a demo, which is the full blown program AND content (860 styles), with only saves disabled (and capped at 4 insert DSPs) .....

Hearing is believing! 

[markstyles]

Wow this thread is busy.   I was intrigued by the specs mentioned.  I too had many questions..  Turned off by not for Mac..  But a windows tablet is pretty cheap.  Henne's comments got me more interested.   I downloaded and read the manual.  This program is powerful, and they evidently put a good deal of thought into it.  I had always wanted more than 4 mains, thought about buying a 2nd Genos (Tyros when I was first interested, but then realized how complex that would get.  I can get the same results syncing/overdubbing with Logic Pro.  But there is a lot to be said of 'instant gratification'..  That is hearing the results immediately..  For years, I built up songs in a recording studio, than a DAW.  Problem is you can't tell if you've got something good until you hear enough of it completed.  Back in the days of multi track tape recorders,  it  meant re-rcording the song in a new key, changing tempo, or putting in a modulation.. 

Now it's much more innstantios.   I often start with a chord progression using Band-in-a-box.  They are the greatest arrangements,  but it only takes a couple of seconds to refine the chords, etc.  Once I like the chord progression, i move that over to Logic Pro, and feed that chord track to Genos, Chord Detect channel.  and I can begin to create the arrangement.

Henne appears to be doing all this in real time with the software.  If Groovy Band had complied with Yamaha's style, it could not be as powerful..  Groovy band will not detract from PSR users.. Rather it is an adjunct which some people might use. 

Apple computers build it's foundation (and so did Bill Gates).   They would watch what 3rd parties were doing with their software, then buy the company, or the licensing rights to use this code..  This is what Apple did with Logic Pro. They bought the rights from Emagic in Germany, who still write the code.  They built up a very powerful program that sells for $200.   Everybody wins.. 

I don't know how Yamaha operates, except I do know I've bought a lot of their keyboards starting with the DX7,  whose foundation software, was part of Bell Labs, NJ. I believe.    It will be interesting how things progress.

[Henni]

Hearing is believing!

Nothing says it better. I've read so many arguments here and mostly other places on how this all simply CANNOT be possible for whatever quoted reasons by many considered by themselves and by others to be experts in this field - however I trust my ears more than these arguments. Maybe that's why I am having so much fun with this product!

The two things that thus far totally REVOLUTIONIZED my PSR S770 are:

1. The GHENOS pack
and
2. GBL

and therefor I promote both of these with such a zeal. If anyone is on a budget, it would be worth your effort to investigate these offerings. It will upgrade your unit at a fraction of the cost required for the real thing.

Please note that I've never stated that GBL could replace ether a SX900 or Genos. Also I've never down run any of those two flagships. Also I do not make comparisons if not based on personal experience with laid down evidence. What I DO state with absolute certainty is that GBL puts my PSR S770 MUCH more on par with those flagships than it has any right to be.

And moving out into as yet uncharted territory for me, what I WILL also state with confidence  is that with the GHENOS pack & GBL together I am convinced that I could make a SX900 sound even better than it currently does. Plus I now only have 158MB available for user samples - in the SX900 most of those could be installed!!!

...If Groovy Band had complied with Yamaha's style, it could not be as powerful...

The second quote for the day that says it all! Tx for posting.

GBL has been criticized often for not doing it in the same way Yamaha does. I like the saying "If you do what you've always done, you'll get what you've always gotten".

They HAD to break away from the norm to upgrade older PSR models in the way they do. I could not care less about the fact that it cannot play standard Yamaha styles - I have 860 styles of the absolute highest quality available from every genre. Enough to cater for almost everything that I can think of performing. And with the editing power available to change any of those styles, even on the fly, I can adapt any style to almost anything I choose to use it for.

I am convinced that this software will allow using style sections from other styles in existing styles in future - just think what this would mean for tinkering with styles...

[Henni]

WOW!!! WOW!!! WOW!!!

GBL created the following on my request:

New bindings:

STYLE PREV
STYLE NEXT
REG PREV
REG NEXT

these will advance and load the style/reg in the last opened folder. Two independent "last opened" folders (one for styles and one for regs) are maintained, so all 4 bindings work simultaneously with no interference.

We have also introduced:

FILL INLINE

which is similar to the existing

FILL CUR

The difference is that "FILL CUR" will always reset the loop measure to the beginning of the looping pattern (it is like clicking on the FILL button in the UI).

"FILL INLINE" will play without resetting the loop measure, and after the fill the loop will complete to its natural end (it is like clicking on the currently playing MAIN button).

It is musically very useful because you can spice up your execution without resetting the accompaniment's musical phrase. Even if you trigger it by mistake, it is completely harmless for your ongoing performance. This feature is NOT existent in Yamaha's firmware.

We have also introduced the ability to trigger **every** binding through the velocity (= how hard you play) of the keys on the left of the split point.

To select this feature you have (easier to be done than said, it will become second nature the second time you do it):

1) Go to the BINDINGS page
2) Type the bound action you desire (i.e.: FILL INLINE)
3) **Right** click (long touch) the LEARN button
4) Press any white/black key everywhere on your connected keyboard(s)
5) C=120, C#=110, D=100 ...... B=10

The number represent the velocity threshold needed to trigger the bound action (you have to play harder than this value). ADJUST TO TASTE. Some trial and error might be necessary:

6) Right click again the LEARN button, press another key ---> BAM! The new threshold is set.
7) Play normally to test the new value, and possibly go back to 6). As always in GBL, no need to stop the sequencer.

You can also set multiple thresholds for different bound actions.

For example:

FILL INLINE for velocities harder than (let's say) 50.
FILL CUR for velocities harder than (let's say) 90.

The behavior will be:
1÷49 ---> no trigger
50÷89 ---> FILL INLINE
>90 ----> FILL CUR

You could also set more thresholds if you wish, although it will be more difficult to discriminate between them.

Being FILL INLINE completely harmless for the looping pattern, I think it is the best choice for the lowest (= most easily triggered by mistake) threshold.

While playing, you can trigger the functionality also with a single key press, which will not in any way interfere with the current playing chord (it will only trigger the bound action if the velocity is right).

Thank you so very, very much to the GroovyBand Live! team. I will be posting some demos soon showing of these features during live play.

[groovyband.live]

I am convinced that this software will allow using style sections from other styles in existing styles in future - just think what this would mean for tinkering with styles...

You are right.

This was one of the design goals since the beginning of the project. Although not currently implemented yet (you can freely swap patterns choosing among those already available in THAT given style), the software architecture to make it come true is already there.

If fact all the patterns (midi sequences) for all the supplied styles are NOT encoded in the style file (which incidentally is much smaller than Yamaha's styles). They are stored in a central database within the program itself. The style files only reference the patterns in the central database.

This means that in any given moment the program sees ALL the patterns in any given music genre. If you are playing a (let's say) rock style, the program can query the database for all the (let's say) guitar riffs appropriate for that musical genre, rank them according to some criteria as best matches (i.e.: original tempo, original instrument, subgenre, note density, dynamics, ....) and present to the user a scrollable list with hundreds of possible alternatives. Ready to be clicked to seamlessly insert them into the playing style; so that you can audition the result in realtime, click another one, and so on until you find something you like. Of course, as it is now, without ever stopping the playing style. It is like asking your band mates, with a quick glance, to switch the groove.

Need to try another drum pattern for a bossa nova style? No problem: here is the list of ~100 possible substitutions!

You could also possibly imagine an automatic style "variations" generator which automatically picks different patterns for some/most/every part. And imagine if this automatic variation injection is done while you play, perhaps subtly (or boldly, your choice with a slider), so that your "looping" pattern is not looping anymore, because at every loop iteration there is actually somewhere something different picked up from the database ....

* * *

We have a vision, new ideas, and the current software (although already revolutionary) is only the first step! Actually we have more ideas than resources (workforce), so we have to carefully prioritize the efforts.
For sure the whole software architecture has been designed to be ready for the future and accomodate the planned developments. GBL is definitely NOT a glorified midi file player from the '90s (me too product, late to the party).

Our ambition is to lead the pack, not follow it.

[Henni]

...You are right.

This was one of the design goals since the beginning of the project. Although not currently implemented yet (you can freely swap patterns choosing among those already available in THAT given style), the software architecture to make it come true is already there...

I KNEW that!!! I could guess as much from the way things are currently being done. This is going to be AWESOME.

Already with today's upgrade you implemented many things that was only possible in my Ketron Audya, Ketron' flagship. What you mentioned above will even surpass the current Ketron technology.

Your random loop idea for similar styles is AMAZING!!! This will be a MUST have for any real musician. No more 32 bar limitations as the variations would be endless & talk about being none repetitive midi only...

I am so happy to be on-board this train! And I am so fortunate to be in such good standing with you and your team. (At last I surrounded myself with geniuses and with visionaries) Thank you once again for the FANTASTIC upgrades you've mailed me today. I will utilize these to the fullest. Also, now that I can access more of my user voices I can really ad some nice human voices to existing styles.

I am SERIOUSLY looking forward to all of these. To everyone liking/using my styles: Fasten your seatbelts - we are in for a WILD ride!!!

[elad770]

I'm a Genos owner and I must say:

I've read All the posts here and I still can not figure
Out what so special about this software?
I also can't hear anything dramatically different
Than the quality I'm experiencing at the moment.
I wasn't sure if you feel the dramatic improvement because of your current instrument? I wish they can make video tutorials so I can truly understand what the fuss is all about. Some positive comments were made by respectful memebers whom I consider serious,  thus, I admit at this point that it's probably me!
I just wish I could grasp more of what is this software

[Henni]

NEVER said it could compete with or replace the Genos - DID!!! say it puts my PSR S770 much more on par with the Genos than it has any right to be.

If you keep in mind that EVERYTHING you've heard on this thread comes from a PSR S770, the amazement starts to kick in...

It's about sound output versus cost - if cost is no factor, I hardly expect anyone to be blown away like I am.

However, once the auto track looping feature is implemented where the software randomly but intelligently plays appropriate sections from other styles along with whatever style is being played, then we'll discuss this again.

[groovyband.live]

Another style only demo.

We have been repeatedly listening to this through decent pro quality studio monitors. We cannot stop! It's addictive. With your productions you never end to surprise us!

Amazing. You have got a LOT of talent.

[groovyband.live]

If you keep in mind that EVERYTHING you've heard on this thread comes from a PSR S770, the amazement starts to kick in...

It's about sound output versus cost - if cost is no factor, I hardly expect anyone to be blown away like I am.

Now, until January 31^st, there is a promotional sale (-50%) and the software can be bought for as low as 149€. Roughly what one would spend for a single expansion pack from Yamaha. Plus a full year of included updates, and the option to upgrade "later" to an higher edition at a special price.

[rodrigo.b]

Now, until January 31^st, there is a promotional sale (-50%) and the software can be bought for as low as 149€. Roughly what one would spend for a single expansion pack from Yamaha. Plus a full year of included updates, and the option to upgrade "later" to an higher edition at a special price.

Excuse me, I have two questions, Can we save the midi songs that we create using your styles? Can we play midi files with the same features like Megavoice to normal voice, round robin, etc? Thank you in advance for the answer.